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Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
Encyclopedia
The Globe was a Victorian
theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London
theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows
. The theatre's most famous production was Charley's Aunt
by Brandon Thomas
, which enjoyed a record-setting run at the theatre, having transferred to it from the Royalty Theatre
.
Earlier theatres with the name "Globe Theatre" included Shakespeare’s Bankside
house, which closed in 1642, and the former Rotunda Theatre in Blackfriars Road
, which opened in 1833 for a few years and was renamed The Globe.
, and stood on the corner of Wych Street
and Newcastle Streets, on the site of Lyon's Inn, lately demolished, an old Inn of Chancery, belonging in former days to the Inner Temple
. The Globe backed on to another theatre owned by Parry, the even more jerry-built Opera Comique
, which opened two years before the Globe. The two theatres were known as 'the rickety twins': both were of such flimsy construction that performers could hear each other through the common wall. Parry built the theatre cheaply, hoping ‘to make handsome profits in compensation when the area was demolished, which was even then in contemplation’. It remained in contemplation for more than thirty years.
The Globe was taken over and partially rebuilt only two years after its opening. The architect was Walter Emden
, whose surviving London theatres are The Duke of York’s
, and (in collaboration) The Garrick Theatre
and Royal Court Theatre
. Old and New London described the theatre thus:
The ‘sunlight’ referred to above was a glass roof giving the auditorium natural light, day and night, and allowing ventilation at all times: in an age of gas lighting, the latter would have been a marked advantage. By contrast, at the adjoining Opera Comique audiences ‘perspired and gasped.’ In a print of the 1890s, ‘A visit to the opera’, showing the royal coach on its way to Covent Garden
, the dome of the Globe can be seen in the background with its name picked out in electric lights: not a grand enough venue to be favoured with a royal visit, but still an established landmark.
Authorities differ on the size of the house. According to The London Encyclopaedia
the capacity was 1,800; Old and New London (1897) puts it at 1,500. In either case it was one of London’s larger theatres. Acknowledging the history of the title ‘Globe Theatre’, the new house featured an act-drop representing a view of Stratford-Upon-Avon
. That act-drop was destroyed in a fire, and replaced by another with a view of Ann Hathaway
's cottage. The last managers of the theatre were Fred Terry
and Julia Neilson
.
The theatre closed in 1902 and was then demolished as part of the Strand Improvement Scheme, and construction of Aldwych
. Bush House
now stands on the site.
The Globe opened with Henry J. Byron's comedy Cyril's Success, which Old and New London described as a great success. Later presentations included:
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. The theatre's most famous production was Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt
Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....
by Brandon Thomas
Brandon Thomas
Walter Brandon Thomas was an English actor, playwright and song writer, best known as the author of the farce Charley's Aunt....
, which enjoyed a record-setting run at the theatre, having transferred to it from the Royalty Theatre
Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
.
Earlier theatres with the name "Globe Theatre" included Shakespeare’s Bankside
Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
house, which closed in 1642, and the former Rotunda Theatre in Blackfriars Road
Blackfriars Road
Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark tube station, on the corner with The Cut...
, which opened in 1833 for a few years and was renamed The Globe.
Design and history of the building
The new Globe was built to the commission of its proprietor, Sefton ParrySefton Henry Parry
Sefton Henry Parry , theatre manager.-Biography:Parry, born in 1832, was the youngest member of a theatrical family. His versatility was remarkable: he could paint scenery, cut out dresses, and do stage-carpentering...
, and stood on the corner of Wych Street
Wych Street
Wych Street was a street in London, roughly where Australia House now stands on Aldwych. It ran west from the church of St Clement Danes on the Strand to a point towards the southern end of Drury Lane...
and Newcastle Streets, on the site of Lyon's Inn, lately demolished, an old Inn of Chancery, belonging in former days to the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
. The Globe backed on to another theatre owned by Parry, the even more jerry-built Opera Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
, which opened two years before the Globe. The two theatres were known as 'the rickety twins': both were of such flimsy construction that performers could hear each other through the common wall. Parry built the theatre cheaply, hoping ‘to make handsome profits in compensation when the area was demolished, which was even then in contemplation’. It remained in contemplation for more than thirty years.
The Globe was taken over and partially rebuilt only two years after its opening. The architect was Walter Emden
Walter Emden
Walter Lawrence Emden was one of the leading English theatre and music hall architects in the building boom of 1885 to 1915.-Biography:...
, whose surviving London theatres are The Duke of York’s
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
, and (in collaboration) The Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
and Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
. Old and New London described the theatre thus:
- The auditorium is effectively decorated in relief, and has a domed ceiling, with a sunlight in the centre. The site having been excavated very considerably for the proposed hotel [an abandoned project], the floor of the pit has been made many feet below the line of the street, and is approached by a steep flight of steps from Wych Street. In Wych Street also are the entrances to the gallery stairs, and that to the "royal box." The ordinary boxes are entered from Newcastle Street, and are on a level with the street, so that stairs are avoided. Here, too, enter the occupants of the stalls. The seats are all fairly commodious, and conveniently placed, so that all that is passing on the stage can be distinctly seen and heard from any part of the house.
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, the dome of the Globe can be seen in the background with its name picked out in electric lights: not a grand enough venue to be favoured with a royal visit, but still an established landmark.
Authorities differ on the size of the house. According to The London Encyclopaedia
The London Encyclopaedia
The London Encyclopaedia, first published in 1983 and revised in 1993, 1995 and 2008, is a 1101 page historical reference work on the United Kingdom's capital city, London, with some 5,000 articles supported by two indices - one general and one listing people, each of about 10,000 entries...
the capacity was 1,800; Old and New London (1897) puts it at 1,500. In either case it was one of London’s larger theatres. Acknowledging the history of the title ‘Globe Theatre’, the new house featured an act-drop representing a view of Stratford-Upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. That act-drop was destroyed in a fire, and replaced by another with a view of Ann Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare)
Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare. They were married in 1582. She outlived her husband by seven years...
's cottage. The last managers of the theatre were Fred Terry
Fred Terry
Fred Terry was an English actor and theatrical manager. After establishing his reputation in London and in the provinces for a decade, he joined the company of Herbert Beerbohm Tree where he remained for four years, meeting his future wife, Julia Neilson...
and Julia Neilson
Julia Neilson
Julia Neilson was an English actress best known for her numerous performances as Lady Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel, for her roles in many tragedies and historical romances, and for her portrayal of Rosalind in a long-running production of As You Like It.After establishing her reputation in a...
.
The theatre closed in 1902 and was then demolished as part of the Strand Improvement Scheme, and construction of Aldwych
Aldwych
Aldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
. Bush House
Bush House
Bush House is a building between Aldwych and The Strand in London at the southern end of Kingsway. The BBC World Service occupies the Centre Block, North East and South East wings. The North West wing was formerly occupied by BBC Online until they relocated to BBC Media Village in 2005, with some...
now stands on the site.
Productions at the theatre
- Committed for Trial, a farce by W. S. GilbertW. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
(1874) (translated from Le Reveillon by Henri MeilhacHenri MeilhacHenri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:Meilhac was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, he began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront...
and Ludovic HalévyLudovic HalévyLudovic Halévy was a French author and playwright. He was half Jewish : his Jewish father had converted to Christianity prior to his birth, to marry his mother, née Alexandrine Lebas.-Biography:Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris...
). - The Vicar of BrayThe Vicar of Bray (opera)The Vicar of Bray is a comic opera by Edward Solomon with a libretto by Sydney Grundy which opened at the Globe Theatre, in London, on 22 July 1882, for a run of only 69 performances. The public was not amused at a clergyman's being made the subject of ridicule, and the opera was regarded by some...
, a comic operaComic operaComic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
by Sydney GrundySydney GrundySydney Grundy was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world...
and Edward SolomonEdward SolomonEdward Solomon was a prolific English composer, as well as a conductor, orchestrator and pianist. Though he died before his fortieth birthday, he wrote dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, such as The Nautch Girl, among others.-Early...
(1882). - The Private SecretaryThe Private SecretaryThe Private Secretary is a popular 1883 farce in three acts, by Sir Charles Henry Hawtrey. The play was adapted from the German Der Bibliothekar, a book by Gustav von Moser....
, a farce by and starring Sir Charles HawtreySir Charles HawtreySir Charles Henry Hawtrey was a celebrated stage actor, comedian, director and producer/manager, knighted in 1922 by King George V.-Early life:...
(transferred from The Prince of Wales's TheatreScala TheatreThe Scala Theatre was a theatre in London, sited on Charlotte Street, off Tottenham Court Road, in the London Borough of Camden. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire...
in 1884. - Sir Frank Benson’sFrancis Robert BensonSir Francis Robert Benson , commonly known as Frank Benson or F. R. Benson, was a British actor-manager...
production of HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(1890). - The Gay Lord Quex by Arthur Wing PineroArthur Wing PineroSir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
(1899), then the most daring play of its time, with John HareJohn Hare (actor)Sir John Hare , born John Fairs, was an English actor and manager of the Garrick Theatre in London from 1889 to 1895.-Biography:Hare was born in Giggleswick in Yorkshire and was educated at Giggleswick school...
, Gilbert Howe and Irene VanbrughIrene VanbrughDame Irene Vanbrugh DBE , née Barnes, was an English actress. The daughter of a clergyman, Vanbrugh followed her elder sister Violet into the theatrical profession, and sustained a career for more than 50 years....
in the cast. In this production, which ran for 300 performances, ladies first smoked cigarettes on stage. - Charley's AuntCharley's AuntCharley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....
by Brandon ThomasBrandon ThomasWalter Brandon Thomas was an English actor, playwright and song writer, best known as the author of the farce Charley's Aunt....
(transferred from The RoyaltyRoyalty TheatreThe Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
in 1893), which ran for 1,466 performances in London, the longest run of any theatre piece in the world at that time. It also had a record-breaking four year run on BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and in Paris and toured extensively.
External links
- Globe Playbills: in the Templeman Collection of the University of KentUniversity of KentThe University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...